In racing, I tend to go off of perceived effort, rather than what my power meter is telling me. I like have the data after the fact to check my perceived effort vs. the actual data. This often tells me if I have a tendency to go out too hard, too easy, etc.

However, I find the power meter much more useful in training. Think about it -- right now, your coach is giving you workouts based on power zones for you to do on the computrainer. What are you going to do when (if) the snow finally melts and you start training outside? Are you not going to want to do those same training sessions on the road? How will you be able to do so w/o the power meter?

The issue truly lies in how much you will use the info. If you do not know how to use the info, it is a wasted tool. However, it sounds from your experience on the computrainer that you know how to perform workouts based on power. Same principle applies on the road.

I like using power b/c power does not lie. Perceived effort, speed, HR, are all influenced by outside factors. Watts is watts. Period. So, using a power meter forces me to truly perform on a consistant basis in training and to get the most out of my limited training time. Look at it that way.

However, you are talking about an SRM. Expensive. So, consider whether you will truly use it to its fullest.

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If there are no dogs in Heaven, then when I die I want to go where they went. - Will Rogers

Emery's Third Coast Triathlon | Tri Wisconsin Triathlon Team | Push Endurance | GLWR

I've been training with a powermeter (Ergomo) for 3 years and have been using a Computrainer for 5 years. I agree with the last poster in that training with power is much more accurate than with any other method to measure effort/work. I've found that training/riding outside with a PM keeps me from overtraining. I wanna hammer every hill and when the workout calls for steady riding the PM is a reminder to cool my jets.
For racing, I've found that the PM has been very helpful for pacing HIM and IM distance races. For a flat course like Eagleman, it was easy to just lock on to a gear and cadence and the watt output was pretty steady. For a hilly/rolling course like IM Lake Placid, I found it especially helpful to not go so hard on the climbs. For shorter races, I've not even looked at the PM because the effort has been pretty close to balls out.
For tracking progress, my coach has me do a bike test every 6 weeks to determine my FTP. The power ranges for my training rides and eventually my race pace is based off the FTP. Andy Coggan's "Training and Racing with Powermeter" book is very comprehensive and there are a ga-zillion different ways to track/graft your progress with power. I use WKO cyclingpeaks with my Ergomo and have reached geeked out ectasy tracking my progress. The program is quite easy to use considering I'm user-hostile and a tech cripple.
Overall, the PM has added alot of specificity to my bike training and has improved my riding. It has not taken away any of the fun of riding my bike either because when I do hammer those hills, it's nice to see how many watts I can generate.

Thanks for your insight. I think I've convinced myself to go for it. I think my hesitency is founded in the facts that, (1) I'm older (58) & have no idea how much longer I can do IMs, and, (2) on a good day, I'm MOP so I'm not sure I can justify the expense.

HI Janice I was like you too! I am definitely tech challeneged. I got a PT last year. I'm still learning about it and I just "took" the webinar which you can still get at Endurance Nation and learned so much. NOw I'm having a blast! I thought I would just list some of the reasons to use power.

1) First of all you are worth it! You love this sport right? Even if you can't race IM's anymore you can prob still ride or do shorter races.

2) It will help you track your progress and improvements. I was really annoyed by this at first b/c I didn't know what all the numbers meant.

3) When I first got a PT I wasn't downloading on CP. My coach asked me something like how do you know what you are really doing then. I really didn't understand the question/statement at the time , but now after downloading for a year I get it. What you think you did and what you actually did can be 2 different things. For example say my coach wants me to go at 170 watts for 10 mins so I go out and ride . I come home and download the ride and "click" out on my interval to find out I only went at 162 watts or maybe I went 175 instead.

4) Do you think you do more work at the beginning or the end of the ride? The powermeter will be an eye opener.

5) It is like cheating in an IM. When the race comes around you will know how many watts you can ride for that race and still run after. It will help you exucute your race plan. It will help with nutrition.

6) This was an eye opener for me...do you think you calibrate your CT properly?? Your Ct watts can be way off if you have not calibrated properly. I download all my CT rides and ride erg and ergvids they are spot on if I calibrate properly but if I don't my watts can be 10 higher on CT! I'm glad I discovered that.

7) When you get out of T1..you will be so pumped up the PT will help you maintain some control.

8) You can track your stress and recovery and intensity of the rides.

I can't think of anything else right now. HTH Patty

i am a follower of the chrissie wellington approach to training/racing. i really only use a watch and mapmyrun.com to figure out how far i'm going. no HRM, no bike computer, no computrainer, no power meter, no SRM. just a great coach and lots of miles and intervals.

I trained with a HRM for a while, but ditched it after a few months. I found that i was chained to it, and for harder stuff, i would watch in horror as my heart rate rose, and was sure that i'd have a heart attack or something. A powermeter is too expensive to buy and test out, but i am guessing that it would be a similar situation, and like you, i figure if i won't use it in races, whats the point in knowing my watts after the race?

I realize this is a bit unconventional for someone who is training to be an elite, and there are tons of people who have found power/numbers to be very effective training tools. I just found it so difficult to set workouts around the numbers (either it was too easy, or too hard and i'd be frustrated at not hiting my targets) and more importantly, i started hating training - it made me feel like a machine. I have a better-than-most ability to judge my pace and effort though.

Don't let your age or place in the pack determine what you do. Do whatever you think is best, but know that unless power is used correctly and fits with your personality and training style, it certainly won't be a get-faster guarantee.

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"What am I on? I'm on my bike busting my ass for six hours a day. What are YOU on?" - Lance Armstrong

nothing compares to a powertap

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Jolene Wilkinson
Triathlon Coaching http://www.pacificfit.net

-A powermeter and WKO+ will help you and your coach track training load better than anything else out there
-Consider using one to pace your races too, especially in triathlons... I bet you'll run faster after you really dial in your plan

Which powermeter?

Do you have multiple wheels? I'd go with the SRM, pricey but worth it. If you have more than one bike its easy to switch between.

Like simplicity? Go with the Powertap. You can set up a powertap hub in all your wheels if you have many, but it begins to get expensive.

Personally, I started out on a Powertap, switched to an SRM, and now I have an Ergomo set up on my road bike. I think I was lucky and got a 'good' ergomo- its dead on with my SRM. Having set up a few in the bike shop I'm not always a fan of them. The most recent one we installed was excelent though.

J